down to the core: here today, gone tomato

Now that Christmas is over, it's a common feeling to want to start working out and eating healthy. Whether you were devouring countless courses of Christmas dinner on Tuesday or unbuttoning after a great Chinese food feast, it's a must to get back into being healthy now, just in time for the new year.

What was I eating on Tuesday, you may wonder? Well due to a soy allergy in my Christmas crowd, we avoided the Chinese restaurants (where all the other Jewish families go). We went to hibachi one year on Christmas in hope that there was something on the menu without soy, but the employee's response ("No soy sauce?? No good!!") deterred us from returning.

Anyway, this year we went to Friday's and I had a great pasta. I ordered the Bruschetta Chicken Pasta (See above for menu excerpt). It was super delicious and I was really hungry (going to the movies really requires a lot of energy!). So I didn't have enough to take home as left-overs for the next day. But I really liked it, so I decided to make a "copycat" version of it for dinner last night for my family.

Multi-grain angel hair pasta tossed in garlic, basil and Roma tomato marinara. Topped with tender strips of fire-grilled chicken breast. Finished with balsamic glaze.

I Googled the name of the entree, and I found this recipe of how to make it yourself, so that's what I did. Instead of angel hair (which is my favorite kind of pasta), we used rotini, but otherwise the recipe is basically the same.

And just a hint for this one, there are a lot of different things going on at once, and I know I'm not a good enough chef to do this alone so my mom and I made different parts simultaneously. My mom made the chicken and put the pasta up to a boil while I made the tomato salad and glaze.

It was a big hit with my family, and again there wasn't enough to leave for tomorrow!

I also really enjoyed this meal because I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, and even though there's loads of them in this pasta, the taste wasn't overwhelming and I found myself really liking it anyway.

Here's what you'll need:
4 chicken breasts
salt and black pepper
1 box pasta of your choice
4 large sized Roma tomatoes
4 tbps olive oil, divided
3 minced garlic cloves
15 fresh basil leaves (or about 1 tsp crushed basil)
3 garlic cloves, sliced into coins
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

For the chicken:
1. Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. (My mom added Italian seasoning and garlic powder too.) Grill both sides and cut up into smaller pieces.

For the pasta:
2. Boil pasta as per directions on the box. Drain and transfer to bowl of tomato salad (when ready).

For balsamic glaze:
3. Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil in a small pan.

*The recipe I used said reduce heat until sauce turns to a thick syrup. I couldn't seem to figure that part out. My balsamic remained pretty thin, but it tasted good regardless so I wouldn't worry to much about the consistency.

For the tomato salad:
4. Wash, core, and dice tomatoes into small pieces. Add basil, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, minced garlic.

5. Heat a heavy bottom saucepan. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, heat oil for 20 seconds. Then add cloves of garlic that are sliced into coins. Do not brown garlic.